On the merits of Dogs

As a young person, recently graduated from college, full of knowledge and the hope of change and progress, the world seems to be a place of opportunity. It feels as if whatever we have been waiting for has finally arrived - freedom, adulthood. . . It seems to be full of essentially good people, some of which sucumb to terrible vices, but on the whole the net worth of creation is good. This is also an awkward time where we begin to awaken to the reality of beuracracy, selfishness, politics, and falseness. We are beginning to experience disolutionment, disenfranchisement, and disapointment in the greater things we used to admire - our country, religion, the institution of marriage, even the working world.

Dogs, on the otherhand, represent a sweet spirit. An inherently loving, accepting, being. If you ignore them for a week and come home, they are not angry at you for leaving, but thrilled that you are back again. They forgive endlessly. They are the opposition to this criticism and disappointment because they fill their lives with seeking and joy in the simple pursuits of food, attention, play, and sleep. There is no striving, so advancement, just the here and now. They are not so much hedonistic as they are appreciative, grateful, and completely lost in the moment in which they are alive.

Another thing that appeals to me about the dogs - dogs are not capable of irony. I guess there is nothing ironic or affected or cynical about a dog. They simply can't be. And it's wonderful.

There is something honest and straightforward about them, and this appeals to me, but is this enough? [to make them the subject of artwork?] They seem like a refreshing antidote to . . . um . . . everything :)

They offer uncomplicated social interaction - no pretenses. They are happy to see you, you are happy to see them, their tail wags. You can do nothing wrong. You can't talk too much or too little, you , there is no such thing as being akward.

In part, I think that I paint the dogs as a counter to this disapointment. I am trying desperately to ward off cynicism, and something in the sheer joy of these creatures seems to do that.